I am thinking of getting a Mac Mini to replace my SB Touch and thought it would be great to have a dedicated thread for tweaking. I know Will uses one as his source. Any others? What software are you using? Tweaks, impressions?

Ok, I scrapped the Mac mini plans. It seems to really get the best out if you need to do some serious and costly power supply upgrades. So I bought a lightly used Bryston BDP-1 Digital Player. An amazing player. I sold my Audiophilleo and PurePower. Anybody looking for an end game digital source that will play 192khz/24-bit files with no clip or pops, I highly reccomened it. My redbook music has never sounded better. Has great weight and authority that I was missing from the modified SBT and Audiophilleo combo.

I now use Aiff in iTunes, and just copy the music files over to the SSD hooked unto the BDP-1 using Finder on the Mac. Very convenient and no streaming content. Basically it is Linux server stripped down to only do audio with really good power supplies and a heavily tweaked Juli@ sound card providing the BNC coax out.

You can control it from the front panel, but I use my iPad and Mpad app. Cover art works perfectly. Could not be happier.

I've contemplated BDP-1 before. I just couldn't quite figure out how it would fit into my system. And if I did get one would my DAC be inadequate. Ah, the problems with the always moving target of computer based playback.

Yeah, their approach is not in sink with the current trend of streaming. My experence with streaming via wifi led to frustration. Think of the BDP-1 as the reliability of a CD player but with the convenience of computer audio. Wifi is only used for controlling the interface. Sound is absolutely stellar. IMO, a new level that few sources can compete with. I think it would sound great with any Dac that has BNC coax. The jitter it puts out is very low. I use an Anedio D2 Dac.

I am using a current Mac mini as my server. It replaced an iMac, which took over the dedicated server function when I grew frustrated with wifi streaming from my Synology NAS. in my case, the server software is PS Audio's eLyric Music Manager.

I have tried the mini feeding my PerfectWave DAC directly through USB and via the Network Bridge over both wifi and Ethernet. I settled on Ethernet, though wifi was also fine with the mini [as opposed to the older generation iMac]. While USB was okay, it was not as flexible for rack placement purposes as Ethernet. The mini has 16gb of RAM and an internal 1tb drive, almost unused, and an external Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 HD holding 2.2tb of music. All files AIFF.

I also took a look at the Bryston and several other player/servers, including Auraliti, W4S, and Olive. The Stereophile review actually turned me off the Bryston. Interface simplicity is very important to me to ensure my family's enjoyment of my system. I decided to stick with a computer running reasonably decent software—though like all such things, in a constant state of development—using an OS that my family and I all use, and supported by the same company and community that supports my DAC.

The Ethernet streaming solves many of the mini's criticisms, and the Digital Lenses in the PWD MKII and the Network Bridge solve the rest. SQ is extraordinary.

Complete simplicity is what brought me to the BDP-1. Not sure how it could be any simpler. I like the Mpad app much better then Apple remote app. My Mac based iTune library is still available for other parts of the house such as Apple TV and my iPhones syncs my music. The only difference is I use Aiff files on my main Mac iTunes. Then all I do is copy the iTunes music folder to the BDP-1 which shows up in Finder. Seemless. I control it with either Mpad or Mpod on my iPad or IPhone. However, I like the option to control it from the front panel if needed, just like CD player. Most of all, it just works, so reliable, and awesome with hi res music and now I don't worry about additional software/players, computer resources, integer mode, upgrading Mac mini to SSD, upgrading power supplies, and usb cables.

Trust me, I get the simplicity part. I would not choose to use the Mac mini as my front end, though on a headphone setup, it is a piece of cake. I would not choose to use the Apple remote for this purpose. Almost any one of the UPnP server/client setups can achieve the same simplicity. For example, the Linn Kinskey client on my iPad/iPhone works well with my EMM server, but I still prefer the PS Audio EMM remote clients. Very simple, great artwork, etc. And I don't worry about SSDs [though I will likely eventually replace my large hard drives with an SSD array as prices come down], integer mode, power supplies, etc., because—and this is the critical part—the computer is not the player or front end. Yeah, I use an Apple remote to control my AppleTVs, but not for anything else. The software on an iPhone/iPod/iPad is way easier.

In my case, here is my workflow:

1. Rip CDs using Rip to AIFF; rips SACDs using my PS3 and convert to AIFF AudioGate.2. I still use iTunes as my "base container," because all the AppleTVs and computers in the house can access that core library of 17,000+ tracks, so all new music is loaded into iTunes;3. I use CarbonCopyCloner to automatically copy tracks to my Synology 411+ NAS [which is accessible to my Oppo and other front ends] and to the Mac mini server;4. The mini is headless, and is connected to the network via Ethernet, does not run Bluetooth, so all it does is run the server software; the PWD makes USB issues irrelevant; the EMM library is automatically reloaded on a periodic basis to capture new files;5. I also script automatic file/hard drive, etc., maintenance tasks for weekend wee hours so I don't worry about the storage, and of course all files are backed up offsite [in my case, using BackBlaze];6. Once I week, I automatically convert new AIFF additions to 256k np3 for copying to the 500gb hard drive in the car.

All the "complexity" if one thinks of it that way, as in your setup, is in the ripping and copying; once done, everything else automatic, and everything else very simple, and the EMM interfaces a pleasure to use. So simple, my daughters and girlfriend are not merely unafraid to use it, but actually enjoy using it. And there is zero obsolescence.

1. Rip CDs using Rip to AIFF; rips SACDs using my PS3 and convert to AIFF AudioGate.2. I still use iTunes as my "base container," because all the AppleTVs and computers in the house can access that core library of 17,000+ tracks, so all new music is loaded into iTunes;3. I use CarbonCopyCloner to automatically copy tracks to my Synology 411+ NAS [which is accessible to my Oppo and other front ends] and to the Mac mini server;4. The mini is headless, and is connected to the network via Ethernet, does not run Bluetooth, so all it does is run the server software; the PWD makes USB issues irrelevant; the EMM library is automatically reloaded on a periodic basis to capture new files;5. I also script automatic file/hard drive, etc., maintenance tasks for weekend wee hours so I don't worry about the storage, and of course all files are backed up offsite [in my case, using BackBlaze];6. Once I week, I automatically convert new AIFF additions to 256k np3 for copying to the 500gb hard drive in the car.

Wow, I am so glad that I have my discs and my players and don't have to do all this work for "convenience" that I don't seem to value.

I can see the value of a computer based audio system, but it's not for me. Tried it out with the help of a friend, glad to not have the hassle.

Heh, Lon, you and I will always see this differently, and I say that with a big ol' smile. I do that once for each disc, just once, and then it is available everywhere I want to listen, on demand and every device, and, if I want, without ever having to get up off the couch. Except for beer and potty break.

To me, it's like choosing to scan and shred all incoming mail that requires interaction or archival storage. if I do it regularly and stay current, then it is simple to keep up, and sometimes takes as little as 30 seconds. Most of the tasks I describe above are actually automatic/scheduled for a machine to do. Once I have ripped the disc, and embedded the artwork, I am done. Because ripping is done by the computer, I can get other stuff done at the same time. There is very little effort on my part.

Greg, I totally understand and know that this is 'the sign o' the times" and the vogue and the new standard soon enough.

For me, I love the search in my collection for what to listen to, the walking from room to room where I have discs (!!!!!!), the perusal of covers and back covers and notes, even the smell and feel of the vinyl discs and covers. I don't listen to music in any other devices at all, I have a dumb phone, have given up on iPods, don't have a car and listen on the go as I won't on my motorcycle, don't listen to music on a laptop or desktop computer because those are right near my system, don't have a job and a workplace to listen within, etc. So for me it's "much ado about" well not nothing, but not much.

And I had a digital engineer friend who stayed with me a while set up a computer system to try out, and listened a lot to his computer based system, and it didn't offer me any sonic advantages and the convenience just wasn't an issue or a plus for me.

So I've got great gear in an old-fashioned way and am happy! I think you too have a great set up and I'm glad you're enjoying it so, and I was just funning about the "labor" involved, I know that if you keep up it's nothing. (but in the case of me with over a dozen thousand discs the work to set up would be just not worth it to me!)

Great info Pale Rider. That's what I love about this hobby, so many ways to get the best out of the music. In the end what you are doing is very similar to what the BDP-1 is doing. Do you listen to much Hi Res?

I think that's right OC. What I am doing is a bit of what the BDP further simplifies. I am preserving my options in exchange for a bit of inconvenience, but as I mentioned with Lon, only a 1-step. And yes, I play a lot of hi-res. I am a huge fan of iTrax and AIX recordings, a moderate fan of HDTracks, and I extract a lot of hi-res of my own from SACDs, and DVD-A discs.

It was nice speaking to you on the phone this morning. Thanks again for helping me setup MPAD. I received my Bryston BDP-2 yesterday and I'm absolutely amazed at the sound quality. Through the BDP-2, digital music in my system has never sounded so good. The organic nature of the music is so enjoyable. For reference, my system includesa PS Audio PWD MKII and PWT, Ray Samuels A-10 Thunderbolt fully balanced vacuum tube 2 chassis electrostatic headphone amp/preamp, McIntosh MC452 quad balance power amp, Harbeth M40.1 speakers, and a Linn LP12 turntable with Radikal PS, Ekos SE arm, and Akiva MC cartridge.

What really surprises me is that I find the BDP-2 playing 16/44.1 FLAC files preferrable to my PS Audio PWT spinning CDs connected to the same PS Audio PWD MKII via an I2S cable. Previously, I played those same FLAC files either through alaptop PC connected to the same DAC via a Halide Bridge USB/SPDIF converter or through a SONOS system feeding the coax digital input of the PWD MKII. The BDP-2 plays at a completely higher level than any digital system that I've heard in my home. I'm using a 2TB Western Digital self powered USB HDD connected to the BDP-2 and an AES/EBU 110 ohm Blue Jeancable to connect to the PWD MKII.

What improvements am I hearing? Images seem more real and are clearly defined in space. There appears to be more spacebetween the images and the soundstage extends wider and deeper. Piano, horns etc.; all sound more natural than ever before.The noise level seems non-existant. Noise never seemed to be a problem before but with the BDP-2 in the system the noise floor seems to have dropped even lower. I'm very happy that I can play my nearly 19,000 FLAC files at a level that exceededmy expectations. Thanks Bryston.